Mr. Golds eyes filled with tears. This hardened businessman continued, in a choked voice, My mother is in the hospital. My father is elderly and has many needs. I have a wife and kids that need me and my business doesnt stop because of family difficulties. All day I run from the hospital to business meetings and then to my father, who is lonely and doesnt understand why I cant sit and talk for hours.
My son needed my help with schoolwork. While we were working, the phone rang. The hospital needed me to fill out some forms. My wife didnt ask me to pick up milk but I knew we needed some, so I stopped off on the way back. When I got back, my son was in tears, trying to work on his own. There was a message on my cell phone from my father. He needed a light bulb changed. It couldnt wait. It would be dangerous for him to be walking around in the dark. And it was my turn to spend the night with my mother at the hospital.
At twelve, I was settled on the hospital lounge chair for whatever sleep I could get. And then an angel appeared. He was a Lotties Kitchen volunteer. He had just finished delivering sandwiches and snacks to families in the Emergency Room. He had some extra and stopped off at my mothers room to see if I wanted something. All day and most of the night, I had been giving. And here was someone giving to me! It meant everything. It gave me the power to go on. He would be there tomorrow, he promised, with a hot meal for me and every day, for as long as I needed.
It became the bright spot of my days. I had been running on empty. Occasionally I would eat a bag of chips while driving to the hospital, have a coke from the machine, or a hard boiled egg on the run. Sometimes Id have a meal after twelve, when I would fall into bed. Usually, I would be too tired to eat. The warmth and compassion that accompanied that very tasty and attractively set up meal from Lotties Kitchen would last long after the last forkful of roast chicken had been digested.
Founded in memory of Haim and Lottie Chalom AH, by their four daughters, Lotties Kitchen, a division of Ezer Mizon, provides over 4,000 hot meals and snacks every week to exhausted family members dealing with serious illness or disability.
At times important medical decisions must be made, a patient may be in need of physical care and an anxious child, sensing the tension, may be desperate for emotional support. The caretaker, the pillar of that support, has not stopped for a moment to care for herself. A mother of school children, whose husband is grappling with cancer, the parents of a baby battling leukemia, or a devoted son spending the last weeks with his hospitalized motherso many have said that the meals, accompanied by the caring smile and knowledgeable advice of the Ezer Mizion volunteers, has been a lifeline to hold onto when all else had fallen apart.
When the crisis ends, the thank yous pour in. Some say, at times, this was the only real food we ate all day!
One woman wrote, I am in the midst of supporting my spouse in his battle with cancer. Every day, I have the opportunity to observe your special dedication. I cannot find sufficient words to describe the joy my children and I felt when each delivery arrived at our door. We tangibly sensed the love and devotion in the way the food was packagedso hygienic and esthetically pleasing.
When the family members of a sick person are running around, confused, in pain, and worried, they totally ignore their daily needs. And then Lotties Kitchen appears, as if by the wave of a magic wand.
The thank you notes are sent to all the loving volunteers delivering food for Lotties Kitchenand to the supporters whose generosity has, over the years, provided the funds for this crucial need.
Because of their compassion, every week Lotties Kitchen provides: 1,500 meals to hospitals, 150 meals to homes, 1,700 sandwiches in hospitals and 1,200 pastries in hospital emergency rooms and outpatient clinics.
This years Lotties Kitchen event will be held at the home of Monique and David Haddad in Elberon, on July 11th and promises to top them all. For further info, call (718) 853-8400. We are looking forward to sharing a fantastic day with you. Dont forget the date: Wednesday, July 11th. See you there!
